Sunday, March 19, 2017

For patients who need an initial opioid prescription, supplying 3 or fewer days' worth of medication reduces the likelihood of long-term opioid use, new data show.

In a large representative sample of opioid-naive, cancer-free adults who received a first prescription for opioid pain relievers, the likelihood of long-term opioid use increased with each additional day of medication supplied, starting with the third day, the study team found.

"Knowledge that the risks for chronic opioid use increase with each additional day supplied might help clinicians evaluate their initial opioid prescribing decisions and potentially reduce the risk for long-term opioid use," the authors, led by Bradley Martin, PharmD, PhD, at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in Little Rock, write.

"Discussions with patients about the long-term use of opioids to manage pain should occur early in the opioid prescribing process," they advise in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report of March 17.